"Keep Your Lamp(s) Trimmed and Burning" is a traditional
gospel blues
Gospel blues (or holy blues) is a form of blues-based gospel music that has been around since the inception of blues music. It combines evangelistic lyrics with blues instrumentation, often blues guitar accompaniment.
According to musician and ...
song. It alludes to the
Parable of the Wise and Foolish Virgins, found in the
Gospel of Matthew
The Gospel of Matthew), or simply Matthew. It is most commonly abbreviated as "Matt." is the first book of the New Testament of the Bible and one of the three synoptic Gospels. It tells how Israel's Messiah, Jesus, comes to his people and form ...
at
25:1-13, and also to a verse in the
Gospel of Luke
The Gospel of Luke), or simply Luke (which is also its most common form of abbreviation). tells of the origins, birth, ministry, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ. Together with the Acts of the Apostles, it makes up a two-vol ...
, at
12:35.
The song has been attributed to
Blind Willie Johnson, who recorded it in 1928; to
Reverend Gary Davis
Reverend Gary Davis, also Blind Gary Davis (born Gary D. Davis, April 30, 1896 – May 5, 1972), was a blues and gospel singer who was also proficient on the banjo, guitar and harmonica. Born in Laurens, South Carolina and blind since infan ...
, who recorded it in 1956; and to
Mississippi Fred McDowell, who recorded it in 1959.
The song has been included in several
hymnal
A hymnal or hymnary is a collection of hymns, usually in the form of a book, called a hymnbook (or hymn book). Hymnals are used in congregational singing. A hymnal may contain only hymn texts (normal for most hymnals for most centuries of Chr ...
s.
Lyrics
The song is in
call-and-response
Call and response is a form of interaction between a speaker and an audience in which the speaker's statements ("calls") are punctuated by responses from the listeners. This form is also used in music, where it falls under the general category of ...
format. As is common with traditional songs, lyrics vary between performersin this instance, often very widely. A usual first verse is:
"The world" and "the time" relate to the
apocalyptic prophecies
In religion, a prophecy is a message that has been communicated to a person (typically called a ''prophet'') by a supernatural entity. Prophecies are a feature of many cultures and belief systems and usually contain divine will or law, or prete ...
of the
New Testament
The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Chri ...
. "The work" can do so also, but suggests that the song may derive from an African-American
work song
A work song is a piece of music closely connected to a form of work, either sung while conducting a task (usually to coordinate timing) or a song linked to a task which might be a connected narrative, description, or protest song.
Definitions and ...
.
Recordings
Recordings by people with Wikipedia articles include:
* 1928
Blind Willie Johnson
* 1956
Reverend Gary Davis
Reverend Gary Davis, also Blind Gary Davis (born Gary D. Davis, April 30, 1896 – May 5, 1972), was a blues and gospel singer who was also proficient on the banjo, guitar and harmonica. Born in Laurens, South Carolina and blind since infan ...
* 1959
Mississippi Fred McDowell
* 1967
Skip James
Nehemiah Curtis "Skip" James (June 9, 1902October 3, 1969) was an American Delta blues singer, guitarist, pianist and songwriter. AllMusic stated: "This emotional, lyrical performer was a talented blues guitarist and arranger with an impressive ...
* 1970
Hot Tuna, on the album ''
Hot Tuna''
* 1970Wizz Jones, on the album ''
The Legendary Me''
* 1971
Hot Tuna, on the album ''
First Pull Up, Then Pull Down
''First Pull Up, Then Pull Down'' is the second album by Hot Tuna, released in 1971 as RCA Victor LSP-4550. The album was recorded live with electric instruments, instead of the acoustic instruments used on the previous album, '' Hot Tuna''. T ...
''
* 1975
Pearly Brown
Reverend (or Blind) Pearly Brown (August 18, 1915June 28, 1986) was an American singer and guitarist, known primarily as a street performer. He also played harmonica and accordion. Brown's repertoire included gospel blues, blues, country, and ...
, on the album ''
It's a Mean Old World to Try to Live In''
* 1975John Fahey and his Orchestra, on the album ''
Old Fashioned Love''
* 1978
Hot Tuna, on the album ''
Double Dose''
* 1984Hot Tuna, on the album ''
Splashdown
Splashdown is the method of landing a spacecraft by parachute in a body of water. It was used by crewed American space capsules prior to the Space Shuttle program, by SpaceX Dragon and Dragon 2 capsules and by NASA's Orion Multipurpose Crew ...
''
* 1986
Hot Rize
Hot Rize is a bluegrass band that rose to prominence in the early 1980s. Established in 1978, Hot Rize has appeared on national radio and TV shows, and has toured most of the United States, as well as Japan, Europe and Australia.
History
Hot ...
, on the album ''
Traditional Ties''
* 1993Wizz Jones, on the album ''
Late Nights and Long Days''
* 1995
Corey Harris
Corey Harris (born February 21, 1969, in Denver, Colorado, United States) is an American blues and reggae musician, currently residing in Charlottesville, Virginia. Along with Keb' Mo' and Alvin Youngblood Hart, he raised the flag of acoustic ...
, on the album ''Between Midnight and Day''
* 1996Hot Rize, on the 2002 album ''So Long of a Journey: Live at the Bouder Theater''
* 2001The Word, on the album ''
The Word Album''
* 2002
Andrew Bird, on the album ''
Fingerlings''
* 2008The 77s, on the album ''
Holy Ghost Building
''Holy Ghost Building'' is a 2008 album by the Sacramento-based rock band The 77s.
Track listing
# " I'm Working on a Building"
# " Keep Your Lamps Trimmed and Burning"
# "Stranger, Won't You Change Your Sinful Ways"
# "I'll Remember You, Lov ...
''
* 2008
Catfish Keith, on the album ''Live at the Half Moon''
* 2011
Catfish Keith, on the album ''A True Friend is Hard To Hard: A Gospel Retrospective''
* 2013
Luke Winslow-King
Luke Winslow-King Balzuweit (born March 12, 1983) is an American guitarist, multi-instrumentalist, singer, composer, and lyricist based out of alatayud, Aragón Spain, who plays vintage blues and jazz music and is known for his slide guitar wor ...
on the album ''The Coming Tide''
* 2013
Marisa Anderson
Marisa Anderson is an American multi-instrumentalist and composer based in Portland, Oregon. She is primarily known for playing the guitar, mixing American primitive guitar with various genres from throughout the United States and the rest of ...
on the album ''Traditional and Public Domain Songs''
* 2015
Larry Campbell
Larry W. Campbell (born 28 February 1948) is a Canadian politician that served as the 37th mayor of Vancouver, Canada from 2002 until 2005 and since 2005 has been a member of the Senate of Canada.
Before he was mayor, Campbell worked for th ...
and Teresa Williams, on the album ''Larry Campbell and Teresa Williams''
* 2016 Hugh and
Katy Moffatt
Katherine Louella "Katy" Moffatt (born November 19, 1950) is an American musician, lyricist, composer, vocalist. She is the sister of country singer-songwriter Hugh Moffatt.
Midnight radio
Moffatt became impassioned by music as a child grow ...
, on the album ''Now and Then''
* 2016
Derek Trucks
Derek Trucks (born June 8, 1979) is an American guitarist, songwriter, and founder of The Derek Trucks Band. He became an official member of The Allman Brothers Band in 1999. In 2010, he formed the Tedeschi Trucks Band with his wife, blues sin ...
and
Susan Tedeschi
Susan Tedeschi (; born November 9, 1970) is an American singer and guitarist. A multiple Grammy Award nominee, she is a member of the Tedeschi Trucks Band, a conglomeration of her band, her husband Derek Trucks’ and other musicians.
Early l ...
, on the album ''God Don't Never Change: The Songs Of Blind Willie Johnson''
See also
* "
The Man Comes Around", a song based on the same biblical passages
References
Blind Willie Johnson songs
Gospel songs
Year of song unknown
African-American spiritual songs
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